More Expansion News

[jdcurran235]

Dont know if anyone noticed this article

 

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2013/08/big_ten_conference_still_thinking_about_expanding_report_hints_it_may_be_coming.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co

 

 

[BigRed98]

I've read about this ad nauseoum on another board. There is a ton of speculation out there, and that's all it is. I'm not sure there's much left that the B1G would want that's not either in the SEC or currently tied up in a GOR. I think we can all agree that no one is leaving the SEC. (I've heard the rumors - Missouri and Vanderbilt - and I don't think any school in their right mind would leave the SEC).

 

The primary question then becomes, what REALLY happens to a school if they leave during the GOR? I haven't seen an attorney's position on this yet, only fan conjecture. It seems that people believe one of three things will happen:

 

1. The GOR won't have any more legs than what is considered punitive exit fees, thus allowing a school to leave while only paying a slight sum to the conference. I think this is the least valid belief.

 

2. While a conference owns the rights of all schools in a conference, the conference MUST compensate each school for those rights. Read this to mean regardless of which conference that school ends up playing in. To explain, let's argue that FSU gets a B1G invite and accepts. The ACC would then maintain all media rights to FSU home games and neutral site games that FSU is the home team. However, the ACC would be required to cut FSU a check for those rights. The conference would not be able to cash in on FSU without compensation, regardless of where FSU calls home. Personally, I think this is the most valid.

 

3. The GOR is air tight. The only way that a school gets any benefit from their media presence is to stay in the conference in which the assigned their rights. I'm not so sure this would hold up in court, but I'm not an attorney.

 

I would LOVE to get an attorney's opinion on this. If #s 1 or 2 are correct, then any team from the ACC or B12 is ripe for picking and I'd expect that the B1G, SEC, and possibly the P12 would spend the next several years ending the lives of both of those conferences.